On The Wings of Dragons
by SaphirasMagic
Summary: Rose Evans has been through Hell and back in her life, and seeks refuge with the non english speaking dragons of Romania. However she finds a better refuge in the charming Charlie Weasley. The only problem is alowing herself to love without fear. CW/OC
1. Prologue

A/N: Hullo! This is just a prolouge of whats to come. The story itself takes a little while to get to the good stuff (Rose and Charlie, I mean) for there is much you must learn of our little Rose. I do warn you, this may turn into an M rated story, but we shall see.

I do hope you enjoy!

And unfortunatly, I dont own anything of the Harry Potter series.

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><p><em>Rose Evans is not your average woman. In fact, save for her breasts and hips, many would think she was a man, due to her rather short cropped brown hair, and her always dirty face. But that's not exactly what makes her so special. No, Rose Evans is special because she's a witch.<em>

_But Rose never saw this aspect of her life as special, especially because of how the Wizarding World broke up her family. Rose was never meant to be conceived, being born twelve years younger then her oldest sister Petunia. Even still, Mr. and Mrs. Evans loved her as they did their other two daughters. Though, by the time young Rose was born, a thick wedge had already grown between Petunia and the rest of her family, and her birth was mostly unnoticed by the rivalling sisters._

_Quiet, but with a temper that could kill, Rose was raised in the world of muggles while one sister went off to become a witch, and the other left as soon as she could. Rose didn't speak much, usually sitting in corners or on windowsills while her family fought, or while the tension skimmed just under the surface._

_Lily and Petunia both loved Rose, but Rose hated their affection. She hated the fact that they fought constantly, sometimes even using her as a reason of their quarrels. She hated being born to two sisters who could love her so much, but hate each other so. It made her sick. And it only was because of Petunia's hasty leave at the age of 18 that she never found out that Rose, too, was a witch._

_However, tragedies were about to strike Rose's life in a bundle, starting with the death of her parents when she turned 10. All three of the Evans girl's reacted differently to this, but Rose took it the worst. While Petunia watched on the funeral procession with a blank face, and Lily cried into her husband's shoulder, Rose was angry. She was angry as she was driven over to the cemetery, while she walked with her sisters, and while they stood at the burial place, each having a hand placed on her shoulder. Tears fell freely from her usually brilliant green eyes, and her tiny fists had clenched in disgust._

_Yet it was when they both started to tell her that everything would be okay that she whirled to face them with vengeance on her face, sending both of their hands jerking backwards. She screamed at them that day, in front of 57 muggles. She screamed at them for fighting, for putting her in the middle, and how pitiful it was that the only day they could bear be around one another was the funeral of their parents. The only day they could pretend to love each other. And then Rose ran from the cemetery in tears and was not found for ten hours._

_When she was found, by Lily, it was because of the fact that rocks were rising in the air, and then would combust, showering the little girl with dirt. Lily was surprised at the fact that her little sister shared her talent, but made it known to her that she must come and live with her, for Petunia would not understand. Rose complied and lived with the Potters, and would be starting Hogwarts the September after her 11th birthday._

_When little Harry was born, Rose was ecstatic, and would play with the little infant every day, making him laugh with funny faces and having many one sided conversations with him. She loved Harry like a brother, and took pride when she taught him to call her "Aunt W'osie."_

_But happiness wouldn't last forever, for tragedy stuck out its ugly face again when Voldemort killed her sister and brother-in-law, leaving both her and little Harry orphaned, one alone, and one at a school with no money._

_After the second funeral of her life, she desperately tried to find a place to stay to avoid going to live with Petunia, who was still blissfully unaware that Rose was a witch. She was lucky enough to be offered a place to stay by her best friend from Gryffindor, Jenifer, and stayed at the Sampson house for the rest of her childhood, earning her keep at Hogwarts by working in Hogsmeade through the summer, and helping Argus Filch clean the castle through the school year. It was tough, but she managed._

_Rose never forgot about Harry, and though she respected her sister, she hated her for the Hell she put Harry through. She visited the Dursley's fleetingly, due to her hatred for Vernon and her dislike of Petunia's spoiled brat of a child. Rose would stay for some Christmas', and would always come 'round for Harry and Dudley's birthdays, though the latter grudgingly. She always told her older sister that she went to an all girl's school and was hoping to become a lawyer, and Petunia did her part and believed her. Both refused to talk about either their parents, or Harry's mother, and with nothing else really to talk about, they would end up not talking at all._

_Her visits became more and more scarce, to Harry's dismay, when she moved to Romania. There she worked at the dragon reserve as a Dragon Breaker; taming the worst of the beasts the reserve got._

_It is the summer before Harry's 11th birthday that the good part of her story truly starts._


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: And so our story continues! Charlie shall make his first apperence in the next chapter...or perhaps the one after that. We shall see.

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><p>Rose stood on the door step of the rather boring looking house on rather boring Privet Drive, in an extraordinarily boring looking black suit that made her feel like a stuffy lawyer. Though, that was a good thing, the presumed, all things considered. In a last attempted for some excitement, she ruffled her slicked back pixie cut, causing it to spike. Satisfied, she rung the doorbell and waited.<p>

"Aunt Rosie!" The door was thrown back quite un-boringly and a very skinny boy threw himself into her arms, making her laugh.

"Harry!" Rose exclaimed in an exact copy of the young boy's exuberance. She ruffled his shaggy hair and pulled him back so she could look at him. "Look at you, you're so big! You're almost as tall as me now!" And he was, for Rose Evans was a very short woman. "Petunia must be feeding you miracle grow!"

"Hello Rose." In hearing her older sister's voice, she looked up to see Petunia's rather tight smile and Rose dropped her arms from Harry's back. If she hadn't have been listening, she would have missed Harry's mutter of "Pretty close, actually."

Rose walked to Petunia and gave her a rather loose hug, and they both kissed cheeks as Petunia mentioned how much they had missed her, and Rose said that she had been quite busy lately, while they both broke away quite awkwardly. Petunia put a hand on her sons shoulder then, and Rose gave the boy a pat on the head with a fleeting comment about how big he was too, that they must be feeding him like a horse! Though actually she thought the boy was rather fat and arrogant looking.

"Rose, it's a pleasure as always." Vernon held out his hand to the much smaller woman, and she took it, shaking his clammy hand once before dropping it, hiding her disgust.

"Likewise, Vernon. However I won't be staying long. I must be on a plan back to America by 6:30 sharp!" A lie, of course, but Rose beamed down at Harry and sold it. "I was hoping I could steal Harry for a little bit, for a little birthday celebration, since I won't be in town for a little bit." Rose didn't even pause as she turned and lead the boy out of the house, waving away any sputtering words the two elder adults might have said. "I'll have him back soon!"

Her heels clicked against the pavement as she steered a smiling Harry out of the drive way and down towards their favourite place; the woods. Once out of view of the house, both burst out laughing.

"Did you see the look on Vernon's face when I took you? He looked like he was going to have a heart attack!" Rose's laugh was like a tinkling bell, and always made Harry smile. He always missed her when she was away, and cherished the time he had with her. She was like an escape of his horrid life.

"Yeah, and Dudley looked like he wanted to choke me." Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes as he pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose.

Rose smiled and shook her head, and leading him to their favourite tree, she proceeded to shuck her black blazer and matching heels. She rolled up the stark white sleeves of her blouse and scaled the tree in seconds, reaching down to help the more awkward Harry up and onto the large branch of the tree that would face the sunset. Rose crossed her ankles and swung her feet idly while Harry pulled his legs up to his chest, and for a while they sat in silence, just enjoying each others company.

"Aunt Rosie, you're not going to America, are you." Harry looked up at the twenty year old woman who sat beside him, staring at the expanse of blue sky as he asked a question that wasn't a question.

She smiled, amused. Harry was the only one of the Dursley's who knew she was not an inspiring lawyer. He didn't know the whole truth, of course, but he did know that she worked in Romania with large animals. He just didn't know how large they were, or that she had not rode a plane since she passed her Apparition test. "No Harry, I'm not going to America. But don't tell Petunia that." Rose winked at Harry, mischievous green eyes looking into glasses clad green eyes.

For a while they sat on the branch and talked about anything and everything, making up for lost time with one another. Rose would make Harry laugh with her jokes, and she would smile at all the dreams Harry told her about. But it was when she put her hands on her sides that she remembered the reason for her visit.

"Oh! Before I forget, I have your birthday present." Harry knew better then to argue with her, and merely sat in curiosity as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in shiny red paper and wrapped with a yellow bow. The colors of Gryffindor, though she didn't say that. Harry took it in his hands and smiled as he turned it over and over. The presents he got from his Aunt Rosie were the only presents he ever got, and he always appreciated them.

Rose smiled and nudged him with her shoulder. "Well go on, then! Open it!"

Harry didn't wait for another moment and tore into the package, giving the paper and bow to Rose's outstretched hand until he was down to a small brown box. He tilted his head to the side as he lifted the top of the box and emptied it onto his hand. It was a thin gold chain that had two gold rings hanging from it, one smaller then the other. Harry looked up at Rose, confused.

Rose's smile was soft as she touched the necklace. "They were your parent's wedding rings. This one was Lily's," she touched the smaller one. Then her hand moved to the bigger one. "And this one belonged to James." She looked up at Harry then. "You look just like him, you know. He even wore the same type of ridiculous glasses." Rose pushed those glasses up his nose with a crooked smile.

"And you have her eyes. Lily I mean." Rose's smile softened again and she took the necklace and slipped it around Harry's neck, tucking it under his shirt. "There. Now you will always have them near your heart, hmm?"

Her response was having Harry throw his arms around her and hug her tight. "Thank you, Aunt Rosie. It's the best gift you could give me."

Rose put an arm around his back and hugged him as well, the only reminder of a happier time in her life. She kissed the top of his head and turned to look at the sun that was already starting to settle on the horizon. She pulled away and moved to climb down the tree. "Come on, kiddo. I better get you home."

They walked down the street, much slower then when they were escaping, as Rose carried her shoes in one hand and her coat slung over one arm, her shirt untucked. When they were a few houses away from number 4, Rose stopped and turned Harry to face her, her face an odd mask of seriousness.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows as he looked up at her. "What's wrong, Aunt Rosie?"

Even though Harry was only about a head shorter then her 5'1, she still crouched down in front of him, and put her hands on his shoulders. "I need you to listen to me, Harry. Things are going to change for you very soon, and it's going to cause a lot of confusion. Things are going to be very different, and you will be thrown into a world that you may not fully understand." She pushed back his bangs and touched the small, lightning bolt scar on his forehead lightly. She trailed her hand down his neck and to the two rings that sat there. "But I need you to promise me something." Rose looked into his eyes, searching.

Harry, though thoroughly confused, nodded to his aunt. Rose took a breath and continued. "I need you to promise me that you will never loose sight of what's important, okay? Remember where you came from, and remember who you are. What you can do, whatever your talents are, they don't make_ you_. You create the person you will be." Rose smiled then and stood, ruffling his hair so that it fell back in place over his scar.

"Now off with you, boy! Before you're late for super!" She nudged him towards his house. She watched as he turned and started walking, but then turned and ran back to give her a big hug that nearly knocked the wind out of her.

"When will I see you again?" His voice was muffled because of her shirt and she smiled and kissed the top of his head again, pulling back to look down at him with a wink.

"Sooner then you think, Harry. Sooner then you think." Harry pulled back then and turned to go, making it several feet away before he was called to a stop by his aunt. "Oh and Harry! If you happen upon a man named Hagrid – rather tall fellow, with a lot of hair – trust him! And send him my regards!"

Harry smiled at that and waved while he ran the rest of the way home. Rose watched as he was pulled inside, and then counted to five before turning to walk away, only to disappear from sight.

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><p>AN: Do tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Here is the next chapter darlings!

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><p>Rose appeared in the startling dark of night, the sound of settling dragons filling her senses. She breathed in deeply and turned her face up to the sky with a smile. It was lovely to be home.<p>

She pulled her wand from her pocket to shed some light as she walked back slowly towards the dorms where she lived. She slid on her blazer, as she walked, protection against the chill Romania had for her that night, though she kept the black pumps dangling easily from her hand as she made a slight detour towards the Dragon Keep.

The Dragon Sanctuary was huge, if not for the fact that dragons in themselves are very large, but because they had so many. At any given time, the Sanctuary would hold around 40 dragons, of all different shapes, sizes and species. Now given the huge cages, the indoor training space they needed, plus the fact that they had many fields upon which to train these dragons, not to mention the hospitals and healing centers for the large beasts, the only way to get anywhere in the Sanctuary was by broom. Or apparition.

Rose walked silently through the open pastures, the housings for the dragons who could either not fly away, or who were trained not to and could sleep out in the open without chains or cages. There were only a few of these types of dragons, six to be exactly, and four of them were only there because they could not, indeed, fly. The other two were saved dragons that had become emotionally attached to the Sanctuary and would come back to visit, or in the case of Dracul, lived on the reserve.

Dracul was Rose's greatest accomplishment, and yet her biggest failure. The number one rule on the reserve was not to become attached to any dragon, for all were meant to be released back into the wild, or sold to someone for protection purposes. You were to train the dragon, but not make it a pet. That was why Rose's job was so incredibly hard.

Rose was a Dragon Breaker. She and her team were the people who dealt with the nastiest dragons the reserve got. They calmed the dragon, made it used to humans, and eased it into its new life. It was much like breaking a horse, just with the constant fear that you were either going to be burned alive or ripped apart by teeth sharper then any sword.

Dracul was a special case, and one of the most ferocious dragons the reserve had gotten in ten years. Rose and her team had saved him from death by a Hungarian Horntail, and had taken him back to the reserve. When he woke from being stitched up, he was far from grateful. As soon as Rose took a step towards him, he swiped her off her feet with his tale and into the wall, giving her a nasty scar on her stomach and lifelong back problems. Determined, Rose didn't give up.

It took her six months to break Dracul, and even now the dragon really only responded to her. But finally he allowed her to enter his cage, feed him, and eventually to touch him. She broke an unbreakable dragon, but he ended up liking her too much to leave.

It was Dracul's pasture she went to then, hopping the fence easily and landing on the dirt with a soft thud. She knew Dracul had heard her, though, when the huge head of his sleeping form whipped towards her, red eyes glowing bright in the darkness and teeth bared, a deep rumbling coming from the depths of his belly.

"Oh shut it, you old sod. It's just me." Dracul' mouth closed, though his eyes stayed on her as she walked towards him. She put a hand up on his nose and pushed his face away as she sat down beside one of his talons. The old Hebridean Black growled softly as he laid his head down beside her, closing his eyes when she started to scratch behind one of his large horns. She leaned back against him and sighed, looking up at the stars.

"I'm worried about him, Dracul. With so much unknown about who he is, and with such a big name hanging on his shoulders, I'm worried he'll be corrupted. Or if not that, bullied." The dragon snorted. "It's not like he ever learned to stand up to anyone. What would make school any different?"

Rose stopped her scratching to look down at Dracul. "Oh my god, what if he becomes popular? And, dates some silly blond girl without a thought in her head?" Her face became horrified. "Oh my god, what if he dates?"

Dracul's eyes opened and he looked up at her indignantly, as if he couldn't believe he was sitting with a woman who was complaining about her nephew having a girlfriend. Rose scowled at him. "Oh you're no help. I'll see you in the morning." She got to her feet while the dragons red eyes closed, cutting off the eerie glow.

She picked up her shoes and jumped back over the fence to head back to her dorm, only to be stopped by a laugh. She looked up and held out her wand accusingly to shed light on a man she had never seen before. He was short, though much taller then her, and had shaggy red hair that fell in curly disarray onto a face that was freckled so much it looked as though he was three shades darker then he was. His eyes were a beautiful blue that smiled down at her. It took her a second too long to reply, and when she did, it was a rather stupid reply, to be frank.

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

The man laughed again, leaning easily against the fence, one foot crossed over the other. "Charles Weasley, though everyone calls me Charlie. I'm new, obviously."

Rose shook her head slightly and put a hand on her hip, looking over his muscle mass, not quite the right structure for a Dragon Trainer yet. "Yes, obviously."

Charlie laughed again, completely unabashed by her wandering and scrutinizing gaze. "You must be Rose Evans then, famous Dragon Breaker." He said it more like a taunt, which bothered Rose more then she cared to admit. "I don't know of anyone else who would get close enough to a dragon to scratch 'im behind the ears."

Rose shrugged. "Cant deny it." She started walking, thinking of just passing him and heading back to her rooms. Surprisingly enough, he actually fell in step with her.

"You know, if you're worried about your brother getting a girlfriend, it's the smart ones you have to worry about. And least the dumb ones don't try to manipulate you."

Rose looked up at him, disgusted. "Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"

Charlie smiled back, which sparked her temper. "Your one sided conversation with a dragon? Yeah, I heard it."

Rose sputtered. "Well, it's still a conversation, and you shouldn't have been listening!" She crossed her arms indignantly, her shoes swinging in her hand.

Rose didn't really know what about him made her so angry. Maybe it was the too easy smile on his face, or the fact that he had caught her talking with a dragon, but at that moment she was more then slightly P.O'd. She started and whirled to jab her wand into his chest. "What are you doing out here anyways? You should be back in your dorm!"

Charlie kept that annoying smile on his face, amused as she worked herself up in a knot. "Couldn't sleep so I went for a walk, sue me. I could, however, say the same about you too, Miss. Evans. And in a suit and heels, no less." At this point, he held a hand up to his mouth and his voice dropped to a staged whisper. "Were you having a date with the dragon?" His voice was teasing, causing Rose's face to heat up even more, coloring her cheeks.

If looks could kill, Charles Weasley would have been a pile of ash on the ground in front of her feet. "I'm your superior, Weasley, and you have no right to talk to me like that!"

Charlie laughed, a loud booming sound that was used to reeling in others too, but it didn't work on the sputtering Rose. "I didn't do anything, Miss Evans. I was just out for a stroll. You're gonna have to do better then that to get rid of me. Besides," He smiled broadly then and ruffled her hair. "I rather like you. I think we could be great friends."

Rose didn't know what to say to that, or what to do for that matter. No one had ever touched her hair like that, in such a friendly way. Not unless she knew them for more then, well, more then ten years! "What – but – you…!"

Charlie smiled and waved as he walked off towards the dorms, leaving the shocked Rose to fend for herself. He had to admit that he was pleasantly amused with her. She was feisty, and with the way those green eyes fired up, she reminded him of a Horntail. _Huh, that'd be a good name for her, _he thought to himself. Charlie shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled contently. Something about that girl got his blood pumping, and even that small exchange made him feel even better then when he worked with the Welsh earlier that day.

So his stay in Romania would be more interesting then he thought.

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><p>Rose stormed into her own room, throwing her blazer and heels onto the couch and went over to raise her snoring best friend. "Jenifer Sampson! Wake up!"<p>

The woman in question jerked awake into a sitting position, her blond hair in a tangled mess around her face. She pushed it out of the way hastily to look blurrily up at Rose. "Where's the fire, Rosie?" Her deep voice was a yawn.

If there were ever two polar opposites, Rose and Jenifer were it. Rose, who sported short hair, a short stature, and usually soft spoken attitude, was nothing like the giant that roomed with her. Jenifer was taller then most women and men, standing at a startling 6'1 with blond hair that fell all the way down her back. She had a loud, easy going personality and kindness that surpassed even a nun.

The two had grown up together and had a lot of the same interests, dragons being their favorite. The shared everything but clothes and were so used to living with one another, they had adapted easily to the dorm rooms in Romania.

Now however, Jenny was not too pleased with being woken from her deep dreams about a man taller then her who could sweep her off her feet and make her a princess.

Rose ran a hand through her hair. "What do you know about that Charles Weasley?"

Jenny flopped back down and covered her face with a pillow, causing her voice to become distorted. "I was dreaming about the love of my life Rosie. Can't it wait till morning?"

Rose ignored the whine in her best friend's voice and peeled back the pillow. "No, Jenny it can't! Come on, wake up!"

With an exasperated groan, Jenny sat up again and pushed over in her bed so Rose could sit down beside her. "Alright. I'm up. No go on and tell me something important to justify my lucidness."

Rose explained briefly her encounter with Charlie Weasley, insulting him many times as she did so. "He was so arrogant! Who do you think he is, thinking he can get away with insulting me like that!"

Jenny laughed, by this point very much awake and munching on a chocolate bar she had snatched from her bedside table. "A Weasley, obviously. Do you remember William from our year? I'm pretty sure he was your partner for potions once."

Rose shook her head, not seeing the connection and took a piece of chocolate when Jenny offered it. "I don't remember a William being in Gryffindor." She popped the piece in her mouth and went for another one.

Jenny shrugged. "People called him Bill, mostly. But that's not the point. William – or Bill – is Charlie's older brother. Tall and skinny fellow, long red hair, had a knack for finding things."

Rose's eyes widened in surprise as she talked through a mouthful of chocolate. "Bill W'easley? I w'emebe'r 'im! We 'ad 'erbology to'ether, not potions."

Jenny shrugged and responded as if her friend had spoken in clear English. "Eh, same thing. Both were rather pointless classes. But that's beside the point. Charlie is his younger brother, by two years if im not mistaken." She took another bite of chocolate. "I'm pretty sure there are seven Weasley children now. I remember Lulu complaining about them recently." The great thing about Jenny, in Rose's opinion, was how many connections she had. If there was something you wanted to know about someone, Jenny knew it, thanks to some distant cousin twice removed who had called her two weeks ago with some complaint about something.

Rose swallowed and pulled off her black trousers, throwing them to the floor. "So what the hell is he doing here then?"

Jenny shrugged. "Studying dragons, just like everyone else I presume." She looked down at Rose. "Why, did you think he came here just to annoy random women?"

Rose squirmed a little. "Well, anything's possible right?"

Jenny laughed at that. "Only you Rosie. Now get out of my bed. We have a nasty Viper tail to break tomorrow, and we both need our beauty sleep." She shoved Rose out of the bed and sprawling to the floor, ignoring the shorter girl's indignant words as she buried herself in her pillows and blankets.

Rose stuck her tongue out at the already sleeping form of her friend and got to her feet, walking the out the door and across the hall into her own bedroom, collapsing on her own bed. She tucked her arms behind her head and stared up at the ceiling, the grudging thoughts of a certain red head swirling around in her mind.

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><p>AN: So there is Charlie! Now Rose is not a very forgiving person, and by this time shes pretty much decided that she, well, strongly dislikes the younger man. Dealing with an Evans was never easy, was it?

Tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: **READ ME...**Yes yes yes, I am aware that I am a mere authors note, however, I will help you understand the way this story is going to work. This story is going to (for now, Saph may change her mind) Is going to run years 1-4. Right now, you are at the start of Harry's first year, the first book in the series.

There will be time skips of months, the story mainly focusing on the growing relationship between Charlie and Rose, and thoes time skips will not be writen as "Novemeber, year one starts NOW!" No, the writer has decided to say "months past," or "christmas rolled around." There may even be "A year passed, though nothing has changed." Depends on her insperation for incorperating what happens in the wizarding world into the (right now) tentitive relationship of these two characters.

Now that you are informed, you may read on. Saph sends her best regards and asks that everyone understands the fact she does not own Harry Potter, for if she did, she would be marrying George Weasley at this present time, and his brother would be present at the wedding.

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><p>As the summer continued closer to its end, Rose learned a lot about the new Charlie Weasley. He, like every other dragonologist at the Sanctuary, was obsessed with dragons. He was always eager to work with them and learn all he could about the magnificent creatures. But as a person, Charlie became everyone's best friend. Nobody, save for her, had a bad word to say about the always smiling Charles. He was always ready with a laugh or a good natured comment to make some girl smile, for all the girls loved Charlie Weasley.<p>

All the girls, but Rose.

Charlie followed Rose around more then he did anyone else; he would constantly be asking her questions about dragons, constantly asking questions about the reserve, and constantly teasing her. It was if he got off on the icy stares and annoyed tones that he received from her. Near the end of the summer, Rose could barley stand to be around the man, and had opted for avoiding him at all costs.

Good job that did her.

"Well if it isn't the ferocious Horntail. Are you avoiding me, Miss Evans?" Charlie didn't sound at all sorry, in fact, he sounded quite happy at the idea.

"Buggar off, Charles. I'm not in the mood for you games." And she wasn't, to be truthful, as she worked on cleaning out a smaller dragons stall by herself.

Charlie smiled easily and grabbed a shovel to help, much to Rose's dismay, chatting with her contently. "So how's your brother doing? Find himself a girlfriend yet?"

Rose looked at him confused for a moment before she remembered the conversation they had had when they first met. She scowled and continued to shovel. "Harry is not my brother, actually. He's my nephew. And I highly doubt it, since the school year has yet to begun." Her voice was cold, as if the mere fact that she was speaking with him was equal to eating dirt.

Charlie didn't break stride in his shoveling as he looked up at her with a furrowed brow. "You have a nephew? How old is your sister? Or brother."

Rose paused her shoveling for only a moment before digging back in with a strength that sent small pieces of dirt up to the tops of her beige work pants. "My sister is dead, but to answer your question she was ten years older then I. Harry just turned 11 last month."

Charlie stopped his work and leaned against the hard wood of the shovel so that he could look at her. His eyes were full of sincerity "I'm sorry, Rose. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Rose didn't meet his eyes. "Why are you sorry? You didn't kill Lily." Her next shovel was even harder then the last.

His ginger eyebrows knotted together then, as he finally made the connection between the three names. "Wait, if your sister was Lily _Evans_, then your nephew is…Harry Potter!"

Rose threw her shovel down then; fed up with his annoying voice and his annoying questions and the supposed fame she had for being related to the blood Boy-Who-Lived. "Yes, Charles. My nephew is Harry Potter. Whopdee-fucking-do!" She threw her hands up then, causing the taller man to take a slight step back. "Because Harry Potter is oh so famous for surviving a curse that ripped away his family, _my_ family, leaving us both orphaned and unwanted! But nobody cares about that. Oh no. All anyone cares about is that he survived the killing curse!"

Rose turned then, grabbing her shovel up again and starting to dig into the pile of shit at her feet, only to stop and turn to vent at him again. "And do you know what living hell he has lived through for the past ten years of his life? He has lived with my miserable excuse for a sister _Petunia_ living under the stairs like a rat! And there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, because I'm not his legal guardian, nor am I old enough to take care of him myself! Do you not know how frustrating that is?" She began shoveling…again.

"And he knows nothing of the Wizarding world. For god sakes, he thinks I work in Romania with lions, not dragons! He probably thinks I'm a lying wench by now. Or at least hates me. Oh god, he probably hates me." She covered her face in dismay.

Charlie stood where he was, stock still. That was more then she had said to him in the past two months he had been at the reserve, and he was still a bit shocked to say the least. Especially that she was so open with him, after the cold shoulder she had given him for so long. It was rather like trying so hard to open a can of chocolate only to have joke snakes jump out at you. "Umm…"

Rose, for the first time in the past ten minutes, remembered that her guest was not indeed someone she had wanted to know all this. She whirled back to him and pointed to the door to the stall. "Get out! And I swear to god, Charles Weasley, if you tell anyone about any of that I will kill you myself!"

Charlie Weasley was not a man who needed to be told twice, and was out and running before Rose had time to blink her eyes. With her blood pumping, Rose grabbed her shovel and kept shoveling, all the while praying silently to herself that this odd boy could keep his mouth shut.

And also cursing herself for her stupidity.

On September 1st, Rose apparited into the ally way beside Kings Cross Station. She was still dressed in her dirty beige work pants and tight white shirt, her black boots thunking on the pavement as she made her way up and into the colossal train station.

It was needless to say that she got many strange looks as she worked her way through the crowded building towards platforms nine and ten, but Rose's mind was not on what the muggles around her thought. She was late, and the gold watch that sat on her tiny wrist said that it was almost quarter to! If she missed Harry, she wouldn't see him again until the summer!

"Excuse me…pardon me…Uh sir? You're stepping on my foot!...Oh for Christ's sake!" Rose, having decided that she had spend just about enough time being nice, started to push through the crowd, using her height and strength as amazing allies in her fight towards the magic wall between the two muggle platforms.

Finally, she saw the wall and smiled. With a quick look around to make sure no one was paying any attention to her, she walked straight through it and onto Platform 9 ¾.

Satisfied at being there more or less on time – twelve minutes to eleven – Rose smiled to herself as she reminisced the days she and Jenny had raced through the crowd for the fourth compartment on the left, the one they always had. Most kids hadn't even boarded the maroon colored Hogwarts Express. With fingers crossed that the young boy had somehow convinced that old bastard Vernon to take him to Kings Cross, she searched the crowd, damning her height as she had to jump to see over everyone there.

Rose was standing on her tip toes and trying to see around a rather tall seventh year, when something ran right into her backside. Rose turned around indignantly, only to have a smile break out on her face to see that it was Harry who had run into her with his momentum from coming in through the ticket box. She dodged around his cart and hugged him tightly. "Harry! You made it! I was worried you wouldn't be able to get here!"

Harry pulled back to look at her with wide eyes. "Aunt Rosie? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Romania!"

Rose laughed and started to push his cart for him, motioning him along. "I was, and as soon as the train leaves, I must get back there! See Harry, I'm a witch, just like your mother was. I do hope Hagrid told you all this." She looked at the younger boy for confirmation, who nodded.

"But why didn't _you_ tell me, Aunt Rosie?" Harry was not mad at his aunt, just confused as to why she didn't tell him something so important.

Rose looked down at him a bit sheepish and stopped the cart by an empty compartment so she could turn to look down at her nephew. "Well for your safety, Harry. If you knew you were a wizard, you would have been in danger. See, many people are going to be in awe of you, because of what you survived." She brushed back his hair to show his scar. "But that also means that you're going to have a lot of enemies. Don't forget that, okay kiddo?"

Harry nodded. "You don't work with lions in Romania, do you Aunt Rosie?"

Rose laughed and winked at him. "No, Harry. I work with dragons." She ruffled his hair so that it fell back in place and touched the necklace that still hung from his neck. "Take good care of these, alright? Oh, and make sure you buy a chocolate frog on the train. I never did get the card for Agrippa!"

Before Harry could even think to ask what a chocolate frog was, or who or what an Agrippa was, she ushered him onto the train and waved at the window when he stuck his head out. "Write me letters Harry! I want to know about all your adventures!"

Harry smiled back and waved. "Only if you tell me about the dragons!"

And that was the last word either of them could hear before the train pulled away from the station, leaving Rose still smiling and praying that the boy would make it through his first month without anything happening to him.

Shaking her head, she turned on the spot and apparited right back into the midst of dragon training, just in time to be yelled at to get down as a large dragon flew up and over her head, spewing molten flame from its mouth. "Halverson, get that dragon chained! I leave for ten minutes and this place goes to the dogs!"


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Yes, yes, yes. SaphirasMagic is a horrible horrible person for keeping all you lovely readers waiting. But in my humble defence, I just started school again, and the homework pile is crazy! I'm writing when I can.

This chapter is more so a filler, and I'm not too happy with it. But it was a good time to show a bit more about Rose's character and help build up whats going to happen for the rest of the first year.

Do keep in mind that this is un-beta'd. I'm doing my best! If you noticed anything horrid, let me know!

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><p>After her emotional blow up at Charlie, Rose opted to just plain ignore the man for as long as possible. Against his own judgment, Charlie left her alone, believing that she would come around in her own time. For a while they were peaceful with each other; Charlie would always say hi to Rose, Rose would always ignore him. It became a routine the two became accustomed to.<p>

As fall slowly turned itself into winter, most of the dragons went into hibernation, and those who didn't bunkered down for the cold winter Romania's mountains were known for. The people, however, started to trickle out of the reserve towards homes with cozy fireplaces and parents with constricting hugs and kisses for their danger seeking offspring.

Rose was one of the five or six people to stay on the reserve during the holidays.

"Come on Rose! Come home with me this year! Mom and Dad miss you!" Rose smiled as she was followed around by the pleading Jenifer. "We're having the whole family over! They'll all bother me again about why you're not there!"

Rose shook her head as she picked up different pieces of Jenny's clothing that were scattered around the small two bedroom dorm the girls shared. She folded what she knew Jenny would take and packed it in the taller girl's leather suitcase. "You know my rule, Jenny. I can't accept anything until I can pay them back. They spent thousands of galleons on me."

Jenny groaned, frustrated with her friend's stubborn sense of pride. "Hardly! They bought you what you needed! And you know they won't accept whatever money you're saving up!"

Rose only headed to the closet, pulling a gorgeous red dress from it and folding it over her arm, almost mechanically. "If they don't, I'll get Gringots to take it from my bank and put it in theirs." She turned back to the suitcase and folded the dress in it carefully, looking up with a smile as she latched the lid closed, her voice softening. "Jenny, please. Just not this year, okay? Maybe next year."

Jenifer sighed as she stood, shrugging on her jacket. "Promise?"

Rose hesitated. "We'll see." She picked up the heavy suitcase and handed it to her friend, along with a bag full of small, wrapped presents. "They're named, Jen. Try giving them to the right people this year, hmm?"

"Hey, if you came with me you wouldn't have to worry about that!"

Rose shook her head and pushed Jenny towards the door. "Of with you!"

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><p>"I'm sorry, Mr. Burns. You what?" Rose had her hands splayed across her boss's desk. The slightly older mans face was alight with ease in the orange and red tones of the fire that burned in his fireplace, dispelling the biting cold of the Christmas Eve snow that frosted the windows behind his head. But Rose didn't care about any of that, and her own face was alit with disgust and disbelief. "You can't be serious."<p>

Mr. Burns was well used dealing with the hot tempered Dragon Breaker, and only sighed as he leaned back in his oh-so-fancy leather chair. "You heard me, Rose. I want those dragons to be tamed. With the booming population of muggles, you knew it was only a matter of time."

Rose straightened and placed her fingers on the bridge of her nose, her head starting to pound. "Docile. You want me to train three ton beasts, whose instincts wish to eat me in one delicious bite, to be docile." She threw her hands to the sides and looked at him incredulously. "You have finally lost it!"

Mr. Burns folded his hands behind his head and crossed one ankle over his knee, causing his hideous blue striped dress pants to show the pink socks underneath. "Rose, you love dragons, you have always viewed them as beautiful creatures. Besides, look what you did with that dragon of yours! Dracul is his name? He turned out just fine."

Rose bit back a snarky remark on how he had threatened to fire her for her mistake with Dracul. "I love dragons, Mr. Burns. I am fascinated with them, and I jump at every chance I can to work with them. But you're asking me to take my team of Dragon _Breakers _and retrain them into Dragon _Tamers. _That's like asking me to turn an Auror into a Minister of Magic! And then use them to turn wild beasts into puppies! It's impossible!"

Mr. Burns smiled back at his employee's distraught face. "If anyone can do it, you can, Rose darling. Besides, you have the thirteen newbie's to train as well! Between all of you, you should have the dragons happy here at the sanctuary in no time at all!"

Rose slowly counted backwards from ten, fisting her hands in her old Gryffindor scarf, willing patience for herself. "I'm going to need at least two months worth of training in the indoor fields. You're going to have to keep the dragons controlled for that long without my team. I'll start as soon as everyone gets back from Christmas break."

A satisfied smile broke across Mr. Burns face, an easy smile, a smile that showed he was used to getting his way. "Good girl. Use whatever you need."

Rose refrained herself from flipping him off as she walked from the room, a million thoughts moving through her head. What a way for the bastard to ruin her Christmas Eve. She had so much planning to do, so much research! She had to figure out _how_ to train a dragon herself, before she could teach other people how to do it too.

Bloody hell. Train a dragon? How the hell was she supposes to do that?


End file.
